Sunday, September 29, 2013

The White Queen Recap: Poison and Malmsey Wine

* Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen Episode 7, "Poison and Malmsey Wine."

This week's episode was very George-centric, with George going off the deep end. Like, really far off the deep end. There was also talk of poison every few minutes, hence the title of the episode, though not so many mentions were made of malmsey wine . . . .

Aaaand . . . We're Fast Forwarding Again!

Since it is already Episode 7 of 10 and we've got to get to Bosworth (which, for Richard's sake, I am dreading to the extreme), a leap forward in time was necessary yet again. The episode opens one year after last week's ep left off. Edward is partying hard with his brothers and Thomas Stanley . . . while Elizabeth is giving birth . . . again. George, feeling like the neglected Plantagenet brother, suggests that Edward go to war against France. Guess who George thinks would make an excellent regent of France? That's right—George! He can barely conceal his jealousy of Richard's titles, and he just gets loonier from here.

Make Friends, Margaret

Margaret is one of Elizabeth's ladies, but neither is happy with the arrangement. Margaret gets booted out of Elizabeth's chamber where the queen is having her baby and runs into Stanley, who urges his wife to get chummy with the queen. Margaret is called back, and at first everyone fears that the baby is stillborn until he starts crying in Margaret's arms. Elizabeth believes Margaret has somehow saved him and buries the hatchet with her. That's probably not wise, Elizabeth, as Margaret and Stanley are both plotting to put precioussss Henry Tudor on the the throne.

The Return of the Countess of Warwick

George is quite a busy, busy man this week, not only prompting Edward to pay France a visit but also hatching a plan to swipe the Countess of Warwick's money. Richard acts first and brings her to Anne; mother and daughter proceed to have a rocky reunion.

Everybody Has Kids Now!

Thanks to the time jump, we see that Richard and Anne now have a son, Edward, while George and Isabel have a daughter, Margaret. Isabel is expecting again, and she hopes that she'll give George the son and heir he so desperately wants.

Forget This, I'm Going on Pilgrimage

Elizabeth's brother, Anthony Woodville, thinks Edward is crazy to go riding out to war again. Anthony decides to sit this one out and go on a pilgrimage instead. Hmm . . . it sounds like he and Margaret would get along famously.

Curses!

Now that Elizabeth and Margaret are besties, or so Elizabeth thinks, the queen has Margaret listen in on Anne and Isabel's conversation at court. A hysterical Isabel believes that Elizabeth is responsible for the death of her first child and has cursed her unborn one.

I'll Pay You to Go Away

King Louis of France literally pays Edward for peace. Edward is all too happy to agree to these terms and heads back to England an even richer man. Richard is upset that his brother would just sell out like that, and George is livid that he's not going to be regent of France. To make matters worse, Edward offers some of the newly acquired riches to his brothers to try and smooth over the situation. Not exactly a good idea.

It's Time to Fight Magic with Magic!

George, you bad, bad boy. First you go behind Edward's back and promise Calais to King Louis of France in exchange for an army to take the English throne. Then you hire a sorcerer of your own to battle Elizabeth's witchcraft. This can only end in disaster, obviously.

Bad Mothering

The Countess of Warwick, miffed over the whole house arrest and being stripped of her fortune business, continues being mean to Anne. She tells her daughter that Richard only married her for her money and will end up divorcing her and taking it all.

And Now for the Poison Part

Isabel is absolutely paranoid that Elizabeth is going to kill her, and George only further fuels her anxiety by telling her that Elizabeth poisoned and killed their dog. After giving birth to a son, Isabel becomes ill and dies. Word begins to spread that Elizabeth is responsible, and she wants Edward to do something about George's public accusations of witchcraft against her. Edward won't, so she takes matters into her own hands and summons Anne for an audience. Elizabeth is pretty nasty, calling Anne stupid, and demands to know if Anne thinks she poisoned Isabel. At least Anne got to make up with her mother, who apologized for abandoning her.

It's a Costume Party!

After George escapes Stanley's attempt to arrest him on Edward's orders, the wayward Duke of Clarence crashes a masquerade ball thrown in celebration of Edward's anniversary on the throne. Things get pretty ugly, what with George's mad ranting and having to be forcibly removed from the king's presence.

George Gets Judged

George is charged with treason. Edward acts as prosecutor, and there is no defense for George. Cecily, the Duchess of York, first begs Richard to do something for George and later begs Edward for mercy after George is found guilty. Edward knows about George's deal with Louis and orders his execution. George asks to be drowned in malmsey wine, and, well, his request is accommodated.

Count to Five, Margaret

With George deceased, Edward gives back the title Earl of Richmond to Henry Tudor. Margaret gets her hopes up and asks Stanley if her son will be allowed to return to England, but that is not to be. Stanley reminds her that five people still stand between Henry and the throne.

The Richard Watch

I love the scenes between Richard and Anne; they're by far my favorite couple. The closer we get to the end of the series, the more I worry about how he's going to be portrayed in the upcoming weeks, especially considering how pro-Elizabeth and Margaret the series seems to be to me. We shall see.

4 comments:

  1. Wait! The book was light on the magic, is the show leaning more towards magic now?

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    1. Yeah, Grace is right- it's the witchcraft that's the recurring element. I was super tired when I wrote this post last night and probably should have made a better distinction, lol. George did hire his own sorcerer dude to counter whatever curses he thought Elizabeth was working, though that move didn't quite work out for George.

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  2. Well its not really magic, because both Elizabeth and her mother were accused of Witchcraft countless times, so the series likes to play on that notion.

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    1. It really seemed to be emphasized in last night's episode; poor Isabel was so scared that Elizabeth had cursed her!

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